It's not how great the great days are. It's how good the bad days are, Agassi said. Getting through tonight, when I was struggling, is big psychologically for me. Sometimes you need to know you can gut one out when you're off your game.

Agassi generally has been sharp the past few months, winning 22 of his last 25 matches, so he figured Thursday an aberration.

It's not fatigue, he said. It's more a matter of staying focused. If you're a little off, these guys are swinging for the fences. There's very little margin for error.

FULL SCHEDULE: Deciding on the time and location of the matches in the ATP is often a difficult task.

The television people provide a wish list, but they don't attend the meeting, said J. Wayne Richmond, ATP Tour executive director for the Americas. Paul looks at what's best for the fans, and Mark and Weller at what's best for the players. If there's a disagreement, the final say is made by the ATP people.

Richmond knows of no major conflicts in Cincinnati over the years. But whenever the weather becomes a factor, scheduling is very tough.

Although there have been two rain delays this week, the tournament is on schedule.

ESPN will provide live coverage of Saturday's two semifinal matches and Sunday's championship finale.

As a result, Saturday's evening match has been moved back an hour to 8 p.m. with Sunday's championship scheduled for 4 p.m., the lastest starting time in the history of the tournament.

EXTRA TV: Because of the strength of Wednesday's afternoon schedule, ESPN decided to expand coverage from two to four hours.

As a result, the all-sports network televised the Pete Sampras-Rainer Schuttler and Patrick Rafter-Nicolas Lapentti matches during the 1 to 5 p.m. time slot.

Also, portions of matches on Court 3 and the grandstand court also were carried.

ATTENDANCE: Attendance at Thursday's afternoon session totaled 10,305, bringing the total for the week to 107,134.